Update (April 1st 1947)
0000 April 1st 1947.
Imperial Palace. Tokyo, Japan.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen. Spring is on the horizon which will bring added pressure to our forces throughout Asia as the Red Army continues to try and force us backwards. We shall begin with an update on our Industry this month." Hideki began the meeting.
"Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Ginjiro began. "Production is unchanged with no new forces being added to our build queue."
"Factory output is unchanged with any new conquests being negated by Allied bombing in the Middle East. There has been a small decrease in our Transport Capacity with less troops using additional supplies as well as the combining of stockpiles in Asia and the Middle East. This has also removed the need to convoy supplies to Iraq as these forces now draw supplies from our main depot in Tangshan province.
Our Energy, Metal and Rare Material stockpiles continue to slowly reduce although Energy has shown some positive gains on some days depending on Allied shipping interdicting our convoy routes. Oil and Supplies have dropped by roughly 1000 tonnes during March due to increased operations by the Imperial Japanese Navy and our ground forces. We have a positive growth in our funds which enables Minister Kuniaki to attempt some overseas covert actions from time to time. Manpower remains fairly steady with a small increase over the month of March. This is likely to reverse once hostilities increase in Asia.
The majority of our production is directed towards supplying both our Armed Forces and Trade agreements which varies on a daily basis. Reinforcements are almost entirely for our Naval forces with several capital ships undergoing repairs in various ports throughout the World. Upgrades are all for the Imperial Japanese Airforce and will remain that way for some considerable time as we have a backlog of aircraft needing upgrades. Minister Jun will cover that in more detail in his report. I have no major worries at this time and that concludes my briefing." Ginjiro concluded.
"Armed Forces please."
"Your Majesty, Gentlemen, good morning. The Pacific remains unchanged territorially but there has been some sporadic Naval activity in the region which Minister Osami will cover. The Indian Ocean has also seen some major Naval battles. Asia has seen an increase in aggression by the Soviets as the snows melt across the region. We altered our defensive plans somewhat in the early part of March to cover a growing problem in the center which is still not under control. Manchuria is the stablest part of the line with little to no moves to advance from either side.
The Middle East and Operation Komodo have progressed well with the annexation of Iraq completed towards the end of the month. We are also making headway in Persia where most of the Allied forces have now left the country leaving us to decide if we wish to invite the Red Army across the border." Tanigawa began.
"Do we want to do that?" Hirohito asked.
"To be perfectly honest your Majesty I am not sure. It will take us another month to advance enough in Persia to be in a position to do so and we already know that the Red Army has forces on at least one border. Our forces in the Middle East are not strong enough to hold any sort of advance in check but we can always withdraw back to Karachi if we need to. The largest problem could be with the Allies. Right now they are concentrating their efforts in Iraq and around Ceylon but that could change if the Soviets come between us and them in Persia. We still think that the Allied Transport capacity is not sufficient to launch any type of major landing anywhere but they could provide us with some trouble much like Operation Tedious is doing to the Soviets.
The Red Army recently advanced into Hotan province on the north Indian border which could lead to them finally trying to advance into India proper. Should they do so then it may well be a good idea to also invite them into Persia as it will split their forces somewhat as well as diverting some from reinforcing Asia. We would not add more troops to India in any case and we will rely on our Airforce to contain any advances much as we did with the Allies in India. I would like to wait for another month before deciding one way or the other." replied Tanigawa.
"We shall decide in May then." stated the Emperor.
"Thank you your Majesty. Iraq has also seen a counter attack by Syrian forces which have made some inroads in the north and west of the Country. We do not expect to have many problems containing their advance as they do not have any defensive air cover. Allied Strategic bombers continue to destroy infrastructure and resources in Iraq but we are slowly making some headway in reducing these attacks. The Oil rich province of Abadan has yet to provide us with any resources as a result of the bombing. Over to Minister Satoru for a more detailed briefing on the land war." concluded Tanigawa.
"Thank you. Good morning your Majesty, Gentlemen." Satoru began. "Asia has not seen much in the way of territorial change but there has been some which I will cover."
"The large map has changed little but we have made a landing across the strait from Sakhalin Island in the north east. The Red Army has made some small advances in the center and towards northern India."
"The current situation in the Middle East shows our advances into Iraq with the north of the Country now disputed by Syrian troops. They have numerical superiority but their numbers are slowly dropping as our Tactical bomber wing operating in the region targets them. We have secured the coast of Persia and are currently moving inland in some areas with bomber support. As Minister Tanigawa stated the Allies have withdrawn all of their non native troops from Persia making it merely a marching war for us. We have no plans to move towards Syria or Suez for the time being and we may well reverse course next month depending on our decision with regards to the Soviets."
"A slightly larger map than normal for north western China shows the movement of large numbers of enemy troops behind the lines nearly all of which are heading east towards our center. The capture of Hotan in the west also gives the Red Army the option of attacking India if they have sufficient forces."
"Concentrating a little closer to North China Army Headquarters we can see that we are withdrawing in the west in the face of much larger numbers. We still have plenty of manouvering room in this part of China but we would obviously like to keep Lanzhou as it has an airbase. There are more than enough Soviet troops to the west of Lanzhou to force the issue in the Soviets favour if they really want to advance though. Our airforce is tied up trying to maintain our defensive line in Mengkokuo for the time being and cannot assist this area very much at all. Nearly all of our defensive line is mountainous which would slow any Soviet advance to a crawl giving us ample time to react if necessary."
"North China Army's center in Mengkokuo is providing us with most problems but the position is not getting much worse as Kalgan has now been reinforced by a substantial force from the Kwantung Army. This gives us a pivotal position which can cut off any Soviet advance if they leave Datong weakly defended. The enemy are advancing towards Baoding and we have moved our armour south from Changde to Beiping to cover that advance. Enemy troops in Baoding will, unfortunately for them, enter air range of Dalian to the east which will then cover that advance while our other Dive bombers concentrate on the breakthrough point in Datong.
Our current thinking points to the Red Army sending too few troops into the breakthrough to make it sustainable for any length of time. This can change of course and there are other enemy forces moving into the area. I see no reason to further strengthen our forces here as we should have more than enough to reverse the Soviet advance.
There has been some territory swapping to the east of Lanzhou with our troops currently having the upper hand. This is a fluid situation and will probably remain so."
"Manchuria remains totally stable largely due to Operation Tedious and its constant drain on enemy forces. The Soviets have taken Vladivostok back again which will allow them to try and muster forces for a Spring offensive towards Korea or what remains of Manchukuo. As of today there is no snow anywhere in this area with only the north still being snow covered. The Red Army remains off balance and we shall endeavour to keep it that way.
The requirement for Operation Tedious to remain ongoing could change later in the month as we are now certain that enemy forces are reducing across this area and we may no longer need to invade useless territory to distract them. There is little of any worth anywhere in Siberia but we will have to take it all eventually once we start to force the Red Army backwards."
"Do you have any sort of time frame on that beginning?" asked Hirohito.
"Nothing concrete your Majesty. My best guess would be sometime towards late Summer or early Autumn." Satoru replied.
"The last area to cover is Siberia where we now have six divisions ashore on the coast with no real major enemy forces present. This is a feint as always and we have no intention of remaining here. We shall merely wait for the inevitable counter attack and withdraw. Nothing more for me so over to Minister Jun." concluded Satoru.